Cameron receives Leveson report

28 November 2012 Last updated at 07:13 ET

The Leveson report into media standards has been given to Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of its official publication on Thursday.

Downing Street said it received "half a dozen copies" and it is thought the deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and the culture secretary will also see it.

The PM and deputy PM are set to meet to discuss the government response to recommendations on press regulation.

On Wednesday 80 MPs and peers urged Lord Leveson to rule out a new law.

The cross-party group, including eight former cabinet ministers and London Olympics chairman Lord Coe, said a law would damage press freedom by giving too much power to the government.

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It is not often that the prime minister, his deputy and their most senior advisers clear their diaries"

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The group, which has written to the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph, wants a stronger "self-regulatory" system.

They are opposed by campaigners, like former motorsport executive Max Mosely, who say the current system of self-regulation has failed and new laws are needed.

Number Ten said procedures were in place to ensure the report was not shared widely in government in the 24 hours before its official release.

There will be a coalition committee meeting on Thursday morning consisting of senior members from both sides of the coalition to finalise the government's response.

'State licensing'

Lord Justice Leveson was asked to produce a list of recommendations for a more effective policy and regulatory regime for the press, which would preserve its independence while encouraging higher ethical and professional standards.

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Possible options for regulation

Statutory regulation: Stricter regulation of the press, enforceable by law
Statutory underpinning: Self-regulatory body with statutory framework which enforces newspapers to sign up
New Press Complaints Council: Tougher self-regulation body with investigative arm. One proposal suggests body should be independent from newspaper industry
Newspaper ombudsman: Self-regulatory body, working alongside PCC, to deal with standards

At the moment the press is self-regulated through the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

The Leveson report is widely expected to recommend some form of statutory regulation overseen by an independent body.

But the politicians, led by former Labour home secretary David Blunkett and Conservative MP Conor Burns, argue this could be detrimental to free speech, saying they were opposed "to the imposition of any form of statutory control even if it is dressed up as underpinning."

The group backs a proposal from former PCC chairman Lord Hunt and Lord Guy Black, ex-chairman of the body that finances the commission, for a "totally new" version of the regulator with increased powers.

But some campaigners say tougher rules are needed to curb newspapers' excesses.

The actor Hugh Grant, who has been campaigning for stricter press regulation and supports independent regulation - but underpinned by statute - told BBC Breakfast: "What people are campaigning for is an end to newspapers being able to regulate themselves, marking their own homework...

"We need a proper regulator, an independent regulator, meaningful, that will need some statute to oblige newspapers to sign up to it."

Downing Street has said the prime minister was "open-minded" about the future of regulation. Previously he said he intended to implement the findings of the Leveson inquiry, provided they were not "bonkers".

But the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says the coalition is preparing for the possibility that it may be divided by the report's recommendations, with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg less likely to be hostile to Lord Justice Leveson's proposals.

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